Samsung U28D590 mini review

[Gregster]

So, I decided to grab myself a nice new 4K - 60Hz Samsung monitor and thought I would give it a mini review.

First impressions of the monitor are cheap and plastic. The monitor stand is fine and does the job but it is very wobbly and if you have an unsteady desk or move your monitor about a chunk, this could be a problem. The connections at the back are easy to get to (1 DP and 2 HDMI connectors) and the power brick is long enough to have it quite a stretch away. The bezels are not overly big and the thickness of the monitor is very acceptable. No VESA mount (which is a shame) but I knew that prior to ordering. The screen is a matt finish and is anti glare (Had the sunlight on it early and could still see everything clearly).

It comes with a DP and a HDMI lead and as I wanted 60Hz, I plugged the DP lead in (30Hz on HDMI). Turned on the monitor and fired up my computer. No need to install anything, as the monitor worked out the box but I did go to the Samsung website to get the latest driver, in case of any problems being encountered. So with everything turned on and everything connected, time to get on with image quality.

First impressions are bright...Too bright for my liking, so I went straight into the Nvidia Control Panel and notched down the brightness to 40 and added a touch to Digital vibrance. My final setting on that is 57% and this gives very nice, deep colours and everything is still nice and clear. Worth a note, is the monitor joystick at the back. This controls settings for gaming and films but as it is all in Korean, I have no idea what is what, so hence why I have altered settings via the NCP.

Straight into gaming and my first game tested was Batman Arkham Origins and wow!!! This game looks great in 1080P but in 4K, it seriously looks good. I am a big fan of gaming in 3D and wouldn't normally play a game in 2D but on 4K, it is worth it. The image is just so clear. I played a few other games (mainly running benchmarks to see what GPU grunt was needed) including Tomb Raider/Dirt Showdown/Hitman Absolution/Sniper Elite V2/Titanfall/Bioshock Infinite/BF4?Assetto Corsa and every game had me smiling. One thing we should all know is the GPU grunt required to run these games and it shows from the following bench runs, just what is needed. The one that surprised me was BF4. With all settings Maxed (I double checked they were), it gave very playable frame rates.

As you can see, 4 out of 8 are very playable at max settings but there is no need to run everything with max details and the image looks just as good in motion with AA turned down and gives very playable frame rates. I did some single card testing on Tomb Raider and that can be very playable at 4K with decent settings. (High settings returned 52 minimum, 62 average and 74 max), you can see just how playable that is and it looked very good and played very fluid.

I have a Dell U2713HM, as well as a Asus VG278H and I always went back to the Asus for gaming, purely because of the gaming experience between the 2. The Dell IPS had the better colours and the IQ was better but the IPS never felt smooth and tearing was evident. Putting Vsync on, invoked input lag, so it was a trade off with either tearing or input lag and for fast shooters, I chose the tearing. With the Samsung, I have noticed how smooth it is. I don't get the same tearing (maybe because frames are lower) or the input lag. Not sure if this is because of being a TN panel or other reasons but the Samsung 4K is now my monitor of choice for gaming. I can't see me going back to the Dell at all and I will be packing that away for it to spend some time in a box till needed or sold.

Would I recommend this monitor to a friend? You bet I would. The IQ is very very good and the screen delivers clear pixels all the way through gaming.

For me, if you have a fairly decent system or are contemplating a decent system, jump onto OcUK and get this monitor ordered. The cheap stand soon gets forgotten when you fire up a game and get going

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-204-SA&groupid=17&catid=1895

For under £500, get your orders in and don't miss out. Well worth the money.

 

[Gregster]

Thanks Gee and PCM2 is the main man when it comes to reviews. I just jumped in with my findings, as he doesn't have one yet (Sorry bud).

Quite disappointed it doesn't have a VESA mount but I will have a word with the welder at work and see if he can't knock me something up to hold it on my vesa mount.

 

[Gregster]

Well, I have had a good 24 hours play with this monitor and loving it. A couple of gripes but nothing with the monitor and that is things like Steam. I had to manually change the font size to be able to read when people are chatting to me and the same with Origin. MSI AB is very small and needs to have a very close look to see what numbers are. Those are program gripes though and not monitor faults. Just a couple of things people should be aware of if they are going 4K.

I got the monitor menu into English (Thanks Mr Cookie) and that has helped with seeing what the monitor options are but nothing really needs fiddling with.

My overall thoughts are "A fantastic purchase". I never liked the Dell for gaming but have immediately found the Samsung a joy to game on.

 

[Gregster]

If you get a moment to try does it accept 2x 60Hz inputs if your using picture by picture mode? i.e. 1x HDMI 1920x2160 @ 60Hz and 1x HDMI/DP at 1920x2160 @ 60Hz.

Thinking of getting one for eve online but one of the more useful setups for that would be to treat it like 2 monitors but if it only does 30Hz regardless when using HDMI then thats a no go.

You can run 2 different pictures but they will both be 30Hz. You are correct with the res and I did have a little play but it looked horrid in truth and not something I would be happy doing.

 

[Gregster]

Might just get the AOC for the VESA mount then though I prefer Samsung if I'd have to use 1x 3840x2160 instead of feeding it 2 sources.

I just use the DP (unless I have misunderstood) but from reading around, they are both the same cuts of panel, so should be no difference. I would have loved VESA but when I ordered, there was no mention of the AOC panel and I certainly don't mind, as the panel isn't as big at the back compared to the stands of the Asus VG278H monitors.

 

[Gregster]

Great review thanks, I'm buying one now ...

question though.... i see u benched at all maxed out settings, and with 4k res am i right in thinking you dont really need any AA applied ?

so what does it look like with no AA on and does this affect the frame rate much?

thanks

I was going to bench at playable settings today but Wifey has had me busy, so not much time for that but turning down AA gives back a lot of performance and isn't needed. It only is noticeable when you stand still in a game and study but how often do we do that?

I still feel it helps mind but no need to add massive amounts and 2xAA is enough for the most games. Another thing to remember is, I picked out some of the most demanding games out (except Crysis 3) and most games will cope well on a modest system and 4K.

 

[Gregster]

So that new monitor will actually cost me another 290X another waterblock and an extra radiator. And probably a new PSU. I know I shouldn't bother, but I really want one

That is the ideal system for 4K but you can game at 4K with a single card if you don't mind toning down the settings.

 

[Gregster]

You can turn settings down?

It hurts but yer

 

[Gregster]

ooo errr

 

[Gregster]

Thanks very much for the review, I'm very tempted to get one of these now.

As others have said, would you mind running some benchmarks without AA and possibly one or two with just one card? (perhaps with some settings turned down!)

Also, how does gaming at 1080/1440 look?

I think the biggest factor putting people off is how much we will have to spend on new graphics cards.

Thanks again mate, very helpful!

I did some 1080P gaming on it and it looks very good (which surprised me). Not bothered with 1440P if I am honest but will jump on some benching on a single card now. Take into account that a Titan is close to a 290/780/780Ti, so performance will be roughly the same with those GPU's.

Give me an hour to test with one card on a few benches and give my feedback on IQ.

 

[Gregster]

Done 2 games and aiming for that 60 fps magical number and on a single card, it is surprisingly easy. AA sure is a crippler on performance and in honesty, the 2 games I have tested, it isn't that noticeable from on to off. If you are in a static image, you can see edges when it is off but they are very very faint and not at all off putting. I don't tend to stand about in games as well, and moving about is fluid and smooth.

Anyway, so far on a single Titan (at stock clocks) and a 3930K at 4.625Ghz:

Bioshock infinite

Ultra - 21 minimum - 50 average - 77 maximum
Very high - 30 minimum - 50 average - 74 maximum (no idea why that is)
High - 31 minimum - 63 average - 95 maximum

It is worth noting that on high settings, it looked just as good as ultra but came with screen tear and would need V-Sync to be applied to stop it. The game was smooth on ultra but those minimums could be an issue. I would run the game on high with V-Sync enabled and it will be a great looking game which is very smooth and very playable.

Batman Arkham Origins

Ultra with 8XMSAA - 19 minimum - 23 average - 52 maximum
Ultra with 2XMSAA - 31 minimum - 40 average - 49 maximum
Ultra with 0XMSAA - 44 minimum - 57 average - 73 maximum

On the slow moving scenes of Batmans in-game bench, slight edging could be seen with AA off but this needed to be looked for and on the faster moving scenes, it looked just as good as when 8XMSAA was used. The game was very fluid with 0XMSAA and for a single card, this is ideal. No tearing and nice and smooth.

More to follow.

 

[Gregster]

Thanks, really interesting especially your comments on the image quality with no AA

Bioshock infinite and Batman AO have some sort of FXAA type filter on when the settings are bumped up don't they? I would assume that would help take some of the edge off things (pun intended). Going from 1920 x 1080 to a 2560 x 1440 monitor you notice less of a need for AA, or at least as much AA. It is only natural that at 4K the need is reduced further. So single card users shouldn't be afraid of turning off the MSAA for some extra performance.

Bioshock/Batman has different variants of AA and I tried them all when I was in SLI and honestly, they all look the same. I will be running games at 2XAA, as any more and even in standing images, I can't notice the difference. A lot has been made about 4K and the grunt needed to run it and I am terrible for wanting details maxed but if I am honest with myself, you don't need more than 2X in any of the games I have tested at 4K and this in turn allows a single card for the most to cope.

SLI/CF is ideal though and allows for ultra settings in the games I have tested but you get massive returns in performance by notching down AA in most games.

Edit:

If you was on a bigger screen (guessing 40" +), I can see the need for AA but at 28", it just isn't needed (or much is needed) if that makes sense.

 

[Gregster]

Single card testing and as you can see, easy enough to get playable frame rates on a single GPU.

 

[Gregster]

Hey Greg,First of fantastic review as always bud it was a great read and very formative,Very tempted pick one of these up my self,Would it run well with a single 780 Classified? I only really play Diablo and the odd game of Crysis and BF4. ofc not max settings but would it be somewhat playable?

Thanks bud and yep, a single 780Ti will cope fine. AA is the main stickler for fps but I keep saying it, it seriously isn't needed and this is where you get all your frames back. BF4 was a little harder and needed turning down the pre-set to high for playable frames (online as well - got it working now) Medium settings is the optimum and in fairness, it doesn't look as good as Ultra of course but still nothing wrong with it.

 

[Gregster]

Hi Greg,

Cracking review mate, thanks for all of this. I initially thought the above results were from SLI Titans, not just one!

I was going to buy a PS4 this week but will be getting one of these instead When you consider how expensive the games are this will probably work out cheaper and a lot more fun as well!

Looking at the price of PS4 games, I see your point. I got Titanfall on release for £27 and that makes the PS4 price look silly.

 

[Gregster]

 

[Gregster]

Nice first impressions. Thanks.

- How is panel uniformity? (Have you noticed any shadows, backlight bleeding.)

No backlight bleed at all but black isn't as black as the Dell IPS I have (But that has backlight bleed) - No shadows either and I guess that is because of the response time

- Now I don't expect you to get a magnifying glass, but are there any dead pixels?

Haha, I have gone over it inch by inch (not with a magnifying glass) and no dead pixels (that I can see)

- Can you share what options are available in the Samsung GUI? (I'm guessing there is brightness, contrast, but would like to know if there is an Eco Mode, Sharpness, Response Time etc etc)

Off hand, there is Eco mode/SBS to run 2 different computers on one screen (30Hz each)/Colour settings/Game mode-cinema mode/Picture in picture.

- Have you noticed the panel heating up excessively? On my early SA750D I had to send it back as it got really hot to touch, thankfully the replacement was fine.

Panel temp is better than my Asus next to it and no big heat coming from either.

- Is it HDMI 2.0?

Only 1.4 on each

- Will you attempt to use CRU to see what refresh rate above 60Hz this monitor can achieve?

I will have a go at overclocking the panel but a reviewer said his wouldn't budge from 60Hz, so I am not too hopeful for that.

- With 4K do you still notice any jaggies in games if Aliasing is turned off?

I have run several different levels of AA and games just don't need AA at 4K on a 28" screen is my conclusion. A static image will show the difference between AA off and AA MSAAx8 but even then, you have to look for the jaggies

- Have you noticed any motion blur in games at 60Hz?
http://www.blurbusters.com/motion-tests/tools/

Yes I have. V-Sync is needed at times to keep the image smooth, as tearing is evident in some games over 60 fps. Bioshock Infinite was bad but with V-Sync enabled, it was good. Input lag for sure but it isn't an online game, so no worries for that. BF4 doesn't show tearing in the short time I have tried it and frames are above 60, so it is game dependent. It is worth noting that I am overly picky on tearing and input lag.

- Are the viewing angels any better than traditional TN panels?

Yes. The old TN's were shocking but I can almost get side on to either the Samsung or Asus and read/see everything on screen. Lay on the floor though and the image is bad.

Thanks

Hope that helps?

 

[Gregster]

That's me out then
I do all my gaming laying on the floor.

Drunk?

 

[Gregster]

Can't believe you laid on the floor

Damn it!!!

 

[Gregster]

Thanks to your review I've gone and purchased one. I can't wait to see what my 2x290x perform like. Thanks for the great review what do video clips look like in 4k?.

I don't have any at the moment but will get a couple. It is 8.5GB for 160 seconds and I only have rubbish 500K BB. Hopefully BT Fibre will be available to me soon

Ooh ya got it early Nice review Greg very informative. After reading through the other thread it seems you've already answered every question i was going to ask

Just looking at the pics the monitor looks great and going by your benches i'd be quite happy with how my Titan and 290s would perform. So i'm happy with that

Just wondering though how do the blacks compare to the Asus? and in general how big of an improvement do you reckon it is over the Asus?

I have the same monitor and my plan is to use the Titan with the asus (that'll cover my 3D needs ) And the 290s with the sammy. That's the plan anyway.

Blacks are better than the Asus bud but not as good as the Dell IPS (to be expected)

Great thread!!

From a purely gaming viewpoint, is it worth it over a 1080/1440 monitor?

That is personal preference bud but for me, I am loving it. AA off in the games I play and very smooth (and not needed). Titanfall isn't the best of textures but 4K does make them look a whole lot better and BF4 looks immense